Лалели Мечеть

Laleli Mosque stands in the Laleli district of Fatih, Istanbul, west of the Grand Bazaar between Beyazıt and Aksaray. It was commissioned by Sultan Mustafa III and completed in 1763, and it is built in the Ottoman Baroque style. The architect is recorded as Mimar Mehmet Tahir. It is also known as the Tulip Mosque, from the Turkish word lale, meaning tulip. The names of the mosque and the district may derive from a local saint, Laleli Baba, whose tomb once lay nearby. The building is registered as a cultural asset requiring protection.

Construction was ordered by Sultan Mustafa III, began around 1760 and was completed in 1763. Mustafa III and Selim III are buried in the cemetery of the mosque.

Three years after its completion the building was damaged in an earthquake. According to the inscription over the door, a restoration, completed after a fire, is dated 1783.